The use of RF energy for achieving hemostasis, or cessation of bleeding, within a patient's body is known in the art. It is known to insert an RF electrode, for example, into the patient's body and then heat the electrode so that a target tissue is cauterized and may then be cut without bleeding. The RF electrode typically comprises an exposed conductive tip portion and an insulated portion covering the remainder of the electrode. Heating of tissue occurs at the exposed conductive tip portion when the RF electrode is connected to an external power source. Consequently, therapeutic changes in the target tissue are created by elevated tissue temperature near the conductive tip portion.
This RF cauterization technique may be used, for example, in treating human renal tumors through destroying and optionally removing the tumor tissue. An RF electrode is placed into contact with the tumor tissue to cauterize the tissue. Because the RF energy does not travel far from the conductive tip portion, the RF electrode must be repeatedly repositioned and reenergized until all of the tumor tissue is cauterized or destroyed. However, the surgeon must take care not to char the tumor tissue or to leave a portion of the tumor accidentally intact/uncauterized, while moving the RF electrode accurately and precisely to minimize damage to healthy tissue.
Once the tumor is completely cauterized throughout, it can be left in place for reabsorption by the body, or the surgeon may cut out and remove the tumor using known minimally invasive surgical tools. In either case, however, the tissue of the tumor is destroyed and cannot be tested or used for other diagnostic or research purposes. Additionally, excision of a cauterized tumor may result in damage to nearby healthy kidney tissue. If such damage results in bleeding, the blood supply to the kidney is normally temporarily clamped off so that the damaged healthy areas can be sutured or otherwise treated to prevent further bleeding; interruption of blood supply to an organ can result in deprivation-related damage, so bloodflow is generally sought to be preserved. Finally, if the tumor is not completely cauterized or destroyed before removal, the severance of the tumor from the organ may result in a release of live tumor tissue into the patient's body, possibly causing future tumor growth within the body and necessitating additional surgical procedures or other treatment.
Treatment of a tumor using RF cauterization may therefore be very time-consuming and complex for the surgeon. The RF cauterization surgeon also ruins an otherwise useful tumor tissue sample and possibly risks damage to healthy organ tissue or spreading of live tumor tissue within the patient's body.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a method and apparatus of cauterizing and removing tissue from a patient's body which: avoids time-consuming repositioning of electrodes and repeated application of RF energy, preserves the natural characteristics of the removed tissue, minimizes RF or blood-deprivation damage to healthy tissue, avoids additional suture work by the surgeon, may be used in a timely and efficient manner, and is more economical to manufacture and use.